Visual Studio 2012 RTM And .NET 4.5 RTM Released On MSDN And TechNet

Windows 8’s October 26th release date has been confirmed, and in the meantime, Redmond-based Microsoft has been preparing all the associated bits and pieces usually associated with a major OS release, including Visual Studio 2012 and .NET Framework 4.5 which have both been released to MSDN and TechNet today.

The Visual Studio lineup and pricing details were first announced in May, followed swiftly by the Visual Studio 2012 Release Candidate later that month. Up until now, MSDN subscribers have always been the first to see every release, but this time around, Microsoft has released the tooling to all developers as of today.

Windows 8 was released to manufacturing earlier on this month, and enables devs on MSDN to continue building and finalizing applications, including Windows RT. Created for Windows 8 ARM-based tablets, RT will allow Metro-style apps to run on devices such as the Surface, although some reports over the past couple of weeks have suggested Microsoft may not focus so much on the name Metro when Windows 8 becomes commercialized.

Requirements for Visual Studio 2012 are Windows Vista or higher, and the Ultimate version is Microsoft’s all-in-one Application Lifecycle Management platform. Visual Studio 2012 Premium meanwhile, offers users a plethora of diagnostic and testing tools, but does not include the high-level architecture and modeling support. Visual Studio 2012 Professional is your entry-level developer product catering to the very basic needs.

The free Visual Studio Express 2012 tools for Windows 8 are also available for download from now, and it’s also worth noting that Visual Studio 2012 supports Office 2013 and Windows Phone 8 development.

The official Visual Studio 2012 Virtual Launch Event is confirmed as arriving on September 12, and will be streamed live worldwide for the benefit of developers. Intriguingly, it’s the same day Apple is suspected to be launching the iPhone 5 and iOS 6, and if it turns out to be the case, we’ll of course have it all covered here at Redmond Pie.

The second BUILD Keynote is occurring on October 30th, running all the way through to November 2nd, and with Windows 8 and the Microsoft Surface dropping days before that, it’s going to be a pretty packed week for all concerned with technology.

I certainly cannot wait, and I have a suspicion the next few months will have a huge impact on the tech world moving forward.